Rajon Rondo Rips Isaiah Thomas' Celtics Tenure: "What Has He Done?"

Rajon Rondo Rips Isaiah Thomas’ Celtics Tenure: “What Has He Done?”

Five years after their last season as Boston Celtics teammates, Rajon Rondo is still sticking up for Paul Pierce. Even if it means denigrating the career of another Celtics fan favorite.

Isaiah Thomas, injured, couldn’t participate in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first game in Boston since the Celtics had traded him for Kyrie Irving. So he asked that the team postpone a planned video tribute until he could actually take the court and he’d have friends and family in the house.

The Celtics obliged—apparently before realizing Cleveland’s next visit falls on the night Paul Pierce is having his jersey retired, February 11.

Pierce, who spent the first 15 seasons of his career with Boston and won a championship with Rondo in 2008, wasn’t having it, and told Celtics general manager Danny Ainge as much.

“(Thomas) had a shot to be honored,” Pierce told ESPN. “You came to Boston. Whether you are playing or not, you should have had your tribute then. I just don’t see how, if someone is having a jersey retirement, they’re going to be running other tributes for other players.

“Danny tried to sell me on it, but I told him, ‘He had a shot, Danny, and he punked you on it. He pretty much dictated everything.’ They let it happen because they felt sorry how (the trade to Cleveland) went down. It’s guilt. That’s what it is.”

In a statement tweeted out on Tuesday night, Thomas indicated the team should hold off on the video tribute and keep the focus on Pierce.

I’d like to thank the Celtics for their gracious offer to play a video tribute on Feb 11th celebrating my 3yrs in Boston. But since it appears this has caused some controversy w/ Paul Pierce’s night I’d ask the Celtics instead to focus all of their attention on #34’s career.

Still, Rondo, now of the New Orleans Pelicans, felt the need to downplay the two and a half seasons Thomas spent in Boston.

Rajon Rondo was irked to hear that the Celtics would honor Isaiah Thomas on any night. “What has he done?” Rondo asked. Told that he led the Celtics to the conference finals last year, Rondo remarked, “Oh, that’s what we celebrate around here?”

More Rondo on IT: “This is the Boston Celtics. This isn’t the Phoenix Suns, no disrespect to any other organization, but you don’t hang conference titles. Do we hang going to the conference finals? What do we hang here?”
Title banners, Rondo was told.
“OK, cool,” Rondo said.